I (Heart) Risotto

I've had a couple of outstanding risottos in the past couple of weeks, so I thought I'd try starting a thread to see where other folks have had good ones, and what makes them so good.

I had a dinner appetizer at Boulevard a couple of Saturdays ago -- a "vacca rossa" risotto with parmesan and white truffles. Astonishingly rich, cheesy and delicious, with a truffle aroma that got noses twitching all around our end of the restaurant.

For lunch today, I popped into Caffe 817 in Oakland for the first time since it changed hands a few months ago. I'm happy to report it's as good and charming as ever. One of the lunch specials was a baby artichoke and fava bean risotto, with shallots, pancetta and parmigiano ($10.75). The brilliant green favas were actually scattered on top, rather than cooked in, and the flavors were all distinct, fresh, Spring-like and very satisfying. The rice was a little more "al dente" here than at Boulevard, and I thought this suited the ingredients very nicely.